| Post: | Attorney General and Reporter |
| Body: | State of Tennessee |
| Incumbent: | Jonathan Skrmetti |
| Incumbentsince: | September 1, 2022 |
| Department: | Office of the Attorney General and Reporter |
| Seat: | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Termlength: | 8 years |
| Appointer: | Tennessee Supreme Court |
| Constituting Instrument: | Constitution of Tennessee Article VI Section 5 |
| Insignia: | 2016 Seal of the Attorney General of Tennessee.png |
| Formation: | 1831 |
| Salary: | $196,968 (2021)[1] |
The Tennessee Attorney General (officially, Attorney General and Reporter) is the chief law enforcement officer and lawyer for the U.S. state of Tennessee.[2] The office of the attorney general is located at the state capitol in Nashville, Tennessee. The current office holder is Jonathan Skrmetti, who was appointed in 2022 by the Tennessee Supreme Court for an eight-year term. His service officially began when he was sworn in by Governor, Bill Lee on September 1, 2022.[3]
Unlike any other state, the Tennessee Attorney General is an officer of the judicial branch, not the executive branch. Article VI Section 5 of the Tennessee Constitution provides for the appointment of the Attorney General by the justices of the Supreme Court for a term of 8 years.[4] In most other states, the office of attorney general is appointed by the governor or elected by voters or the legislature.
The Attorney General oversees the work and operations of the Office of the Attorney General. In this capacity, he is assisted by various office heads.[5]
Chief Deputy Attorney General - Lacey E. Mase
Solicitor General - Andreé Sophia Blumstein
Chief of Staff - Brandon J. Smith
| Image | Name | Tenure | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Shall Yerger | 1831–1839 | |||
| 2 | Return J. Meigs III | 1839 | |||
| 3 | West Hughes Humphreys | 1839–1851 | |||
| 4 | William Graham Swan | 1851–1854 | Democratic | ||
| 5 | John L. T. Sneed | 1854–1859 | |||
| 6 | John W. Head | 1859–1862 | Democratic | ||
| – | Horace Maynard | 1864 | Unionist | ||
| 7 | Thomas M. Coldwell | 1865–1870 | |||
| 8 | Joseph Brown Heiskell | 1870–1878 | Democratic | ||
| 9 | Benjamin J. Lea | 1878–1886 | Democratic | ||
| 10 | George Wesley Pickle[6] | 1886–1902 | |||
| 11 | Charles T. Cates, Jr. | 1902–1913 | |||
| 12 | Frank M. Thompson | 1913–1926 | |||
| 13 | Charles L. Cornelius | 1926 | |||
| 14 | L. D. Smith | 1926–1932 | |||
| 15 | Roy H. Beeler[7] [8] [9] | 1932–1954 | |||
| 16 | George F. McCanless | 1954–1969 | |||
| 17 | David M. Pack | 1969–1974 | |||
| 18 | Milton P. Rice | 1974 | |||
| 19 | R.A. Ashley Jr. | 1974–1976 | |||
| 20 | Brooks McLemore | 1976–1978 | |||
| 21 | William M. Leech Jr. | 1978–1984 | |||
| 22 | W.J. Michael Cody | 1984–1988 | |||
| 23 | Charles Burson | 1988–1997 | Democratic | ||
| 24 | John Knox Walkup | 1997–1999 | |||
| 25 | Paul G. Summers | 1999–2006 | |||
| 26 | Robert E. Cooper Jr. | 2006–2014 | Democratic | ||
| 27 | Herbert Slatery | 2014–2022 | Republican | ||
| 28 | Jonathan Skrmetti | 2022–present | Republican |